Blackburn's fixtures compared to their relegation rivals

John Eustace's side opened up a five-point gap on the bottom three with their resounding victory at The Stadium of Light. With six games to go, Rovers need arguably five more points to be sure of their status for next year.

The battle for the drop remains incredibly tight though, with eight teams separated by seven points. With six matches to go, there are bound to be plenty of twists and turns.

So, which teams have the best fixtures coming up? The Lancashire Telegraph takes a look.

Queens Park Rangers, 16th, 46 points

Sheffield Wednesday (H)

Plymouth Argyle (A)

Hull City (A)

Preston North (H)

Leeds United (H)

Coventry City (A)

Queens Park Rangers had a great Easter weekend, taking six points from their two matches. Marti Cifuentes has overseen a fantastic job considering where they were when he took the reigns.

QPR are now on the coattails of safety. It's hard to imagine they won't get the win/four points they need from their remaining games. Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and even games with Preston and Hull look winnable for them.

Blackburn Rovers, 17th, 51 points

Southampton (H)

Bristol City (A)

Leeds United (A)

Sheffield Wednesday (H)

Coventry City (H)

Leicester City (A)

It'll come as no surprise to anyone of a Rovers persuasion that their fixture list looks tough. But that wins over Sunderland has injected belief into everyone around the club.

They're not facing Southampton at a bad time, albeit it'll be a tough game. Bristol City, like Sunderland, are an opponent with nothing to play for. The Sheffield Wednesday game will be huge. I think they'll get the five points that they need.

Stoke City, 18th, 45 points

West Brom (H)

Swansea City (A)

Sheffield Wednesday (A)

Plymouth Argyle (H)

Southampton (A)

Bristol City (H)

Stoke have really helped their hopes with a couple of wins in recent weeks, though they will see a home draw with Huddersfield as an opportunity missed.

They have their own destiny in their hands with Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth to play. Bristol City and Swansea aren't the worst fixtures either.

Millwall, 19th, 44 points

Huddersfield Town (A)

Leicester City (H)

Cardiff City (H)

Sunderland (A)

Plymouth Argyle (H)

Swansea City (A)

It wasn't a great Easter weekend for Millwall, losing away at Rotherham. Their momentum under Neil Harris has been somewhat halted but their fixtures still look favourable.

Huddersfield, Plymouth and Cardiff look friendlier fixtures. We've just witnessed how Jekyll and Hyde Sunderland are too. I think they will survive.

Birmingham City, 20th, 42 points

Leicester City (A)

Cardiff City (H)

Coventry City (H)

Rotherham United (A)

Huddersfield Town (A)

Norwich City (H)

Birmingham really needed that win on Easter Monday after a disastrous run of form. Gary Rowett should make them harder to beat and stabilise the team.

Cardiff, Rotherham and Huddersfield are good fixtures to have. The Millers will be down by then and if they win those three, they'll be safe. It is in their own hands.

Plymouth Argyle, 21st, 40 points

Rotherham United (A)

Queens Park Rangers (H)

Leicester City (H)

Stoke City (A)

Millwall (A)

Hull City (H)

Plymouth are in terrible form and sacked Ian Foster this week after eight defeats in 11. It's impossible to know how they'll react with their Director of Football Neil Dewsnip taking over.

They have games to get out of it, but it's unclear whether they have the quality to do so. Rotherham is must-win for them on Friday night with away trips to Stoke and Millwall likely to decide their fate. Right now, I think they might drop back to League One.

Huddersfield Town, 22nd, 40 points

Millwall (H)

Preston North End (A)

Bristol City (A)

Swansea City (H)

Birmingham City (H)

Ipswich Town (A)

Like Plymouth, Huddersfield have winnable games but the question is whether they can take advantage. They've only one once since Andre Breitenreiter took over.

Home games with Millwall, Birmingham and Swansea look good on paper. Trips to Deepdale and Portland Road, less so. I haven't seen enough so far to suggest they can get the points needed from those other winnable games.

Sheffield Wednesday, 23rd, 39 points

Queens Park Rangers (A)

Norwich City (H)

Stoke City (H)

Blackburn Rovers (A)

West Brom (H)

Sunderland (A)

 After a good run of form, it's been a damaging Easter weekend for Wednesday, who dropped points at Swansea and were rubbish at Middlesbrough. Danny Rohl has done a remarkable job to give them a shot at safety but they need regroup to stand a chance.

Losing to QPR would be a big blow, with Stoke at home a must-win match. They travel to Ewood Park on Sunday, April 21 for a massive game. Who knows what West Brom will need at that stage of the season or what state Sunderland will be in?

VERDICT

Although Rovers have the toughest fixtures, I do think they'll survive. I can see them being competitive enough, as they were against Ipswich, to get another five points.

QPR will definitely be safe and I'd back Millwall and Stoke too. The main teams I think that are fighting to survive are Birmingham, Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield and Plymouth.

My gut feeling is Huddersfield and Plymouth will go down, with the Owls surviving by the skin of their teeth. It's going to be so, so tight, though.